Rev. Jesse Jackson to attend Mandela funeral

Dec. 7, 2013
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Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., right, and Catholic priest Thukni Magwaza, from South Africa, talk about the life of Nelson Mandela before a prayer vigil in honor of Mandela at the Rainbow Push Coalition headquarters on Dec. 6, 2013, in Chicago. / Charles Rex Arbogast, Associated Press

by Melanie Eversley, USA TODAY

by Melanie Eversley, USA TODAY

The Rev. Jesse Jackson says he will be leaving in the next few days to attend the Dec. 15 state funeral of Nelson Mandela.

Speaking by telephone, Jackson said he last saw Mandela in South Africa two years ago during a meeting at the offices of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, which is based in Johannesburg.

During that meeting, Jackson said he and Mandela had a "long talk" about civil rights struggles in South Africa and the United States, and about persecution and forgiveness. Jackson is founder and president of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, based in Chicago.

President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, along with his wife, former secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, will also be traveling to South Africa next week to attend memorial services for Mandela. It's unclear whether the U.S. leaders will attend Tuesday's public memorial in Johannesburg's soccer stadium or the state funeral on Dec. 15.

Minister in the Presidency Collins Chabane told journalists Saturday he expects massive crowds on Tuesday, far beyond what the stadium's 95,000-person capacity could hold. He said there would be "overflow" areas set up.

"We can't tell people not to come," he said, adding Mandela's body won't be at the stadium event Tuesday.

Mandela's body will lie in state in Pretoria from Wednesday through Friday.